Ballerina Baby Quilt

A few weeks ago I quilted this darling baby quilt for a client of mine. It had a large upper and lower border, so I split them into two different sections.

I quilted two straight lines, one inch apart, down the center of the large border and then filled the space with a string of circles. In the upper and lower sections I quilted a concentric paisley design.

In each of the appliqued circles I quilted a flower. I left the block background empty and quilted ribbons and flowers in the block sashing.

A Quilt for Valor

I have been signed up to be a longarm quilter for Quilts of Valor for a while now, but since there are more longarmers than piecers in Utah, I haven't had the opportunity to quilt one until recently.  A client of mine had finished this beautiful quilt for a Quilts of Valor project her quilt guild had been working on, and she brought it to me to quilt for her.

As a Quilts of Valor quilter I have a strict set of guidelines that I have to follow. One of them is to quilt the quilt in an appropriate design for the patriotic nature of the quilt. On this quilt I chose to highlight the stars in the blocks. I quilted a small star in the center of the block, and did a wavy back-and-forth design in the block background.

In the sashing I quilted a loops and stars design.  In the outer border I quilted Cathedral windows in the smaller triangles, and a feather pattern in the larger triangles.

I think the quilt turned out beautifully. I am so glad that I was able to give back to the men and women of our country who have given their lives and/or time in military service.

If you would like to learn more about the Quilts of Valor program, you can find that info here.  If you have a quilt for Quilts of Valor and would like to request a longarmer in your area, you can find that form here. If you live in the Utah County area and would like me to quilt your Quilt of Valor quilt, please contact me via email or my Facebook page for more information.  If you are interested in the requirements for making a quilt for Quilts of Valor, you can find the guidelines here.

Toolbox Thursday

There are a lot of different tools I use, but the most important (and one of my favorites) is my extra long cutting mat. Several years ago I purchased this mat from Jo-ann Fabrics. It was the perfect width and length for placing along the back table of my quilting machine (you can see a glimpse of it in the upper right corner of the picture).  It is 35 inches wide and 70 inches long when placed edge-to-edge. Now, my machine table is only about 25 inches wide, so I actually have the mat placed top to bottom instead of side to side, so it ends up being 24 inches by 105 inches. It is great for trimming quilts once they've been quilted and are ready to be bound, or for just cutting binding strips, quilt backs, etc.

You'll notice I haven't said anything about the scissors, rotary cutter, or rulers that are also in the picture. Well, you'll just have to stay tuned for the next Toolbox Thursday to see which tool I decide to feature next! :)

Red White and Blue

I absolutely love this red, white, and blue quilt that I client brought me to quilt for her! She loves feathers, so I decided to do an all-over meandering feather design. It turned out really great.  I love the way the quilting stands out on the quilt back, too!

The top is a simply pieced block, sashed, and the all-over design looks great with it, too.

Here's a picture of the full quilt. Don't you just love the pieced outer border? I sure do! 

Ups and Downs Quilt

So, do you remember my post last week about the Bliss quilt? Well I did another quilt for Tammy at Karamat Designs earlier this year. She made this gorgeous quilt using Sarah Fielke's pattern Ups and Downs (you can purchase the pattern here in Sarah's online shop). Isn't it so cute?

In the colored ups and downs sections I quilted an all-over paisley design.  In the beige background I did a larger cross-hatch, with a more modern feel. Instead of keeping the lines straight I squiggled them.

The quilt turned out looking really cool when it was finished.  Here's a close up of some of the quilting.

Large Log Cabin

A few months ago I quilted this large version of a log cabin quilt for my local quilt shop, Gracie Lou's.

I chose to do an all-over floral echo pattern.  I started with randomly placed flowers and then echoed the design out to the edges of the quilt.

Here's a closer view of the echoed flowers.

Isn't it such a cute quilt? The pattern is in two sizes: baby and twin. Head on over to Gracie Lou's and you can get your own cute large log cabin quilt started!

Bliss Quilt

Last fall I did this quilt for one of my Twitter friends. Isn't it gorgeous?! I've had the pleasure of knowing Tammy of Karamat Designs for a while, but in October I got to meet her in person. It's always fun to meet your online friends in real life. :)

For this quilt I did small flowers in the 4-patches, and larger flowers in the 16-patches. In the sashing around the 4-patch blocks and the setting triangles I quilted a continuous loop.

In the inner border I quilted leaves and flowers, and in the outer border I quilted a large fern design.

Here's a better view of the quilting in the blocks from the back. It looks pretty cool.

And a view of the borders from the back.